Indian stock markets extended their winning streak on Wednesday, with the BSE Sensex surging over 1,200 points and the NSE Nifty 50 crossing the 25,350 mark in morning trade. The rally pushed both benchmark indices to their highest levels in eight months, supported by aggressive foreign investor buying, easing crude oil prices and encouraging corporate earnings.
At 10.45 am, the Sensex was trading at 82,342.55, up 1,235.90 points or 1.52 per cent. The Nifty 50 gained 327.90 points or 1.31 per cent to trade at 25,372.55. Both indices touched their highest levels since February 27.
Why are Sensex and Nifty rising?
The latest rally comes amid a sharp improvement in foreign investor sentiment towards Indian equities. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have purchased shares worth $5.68 billion in November, marking their biggest monthly buying spree since September 2024.
Lower international crude oil prices have also supported the market by easing concerns over inflation, the rupee and India's external balances. Brent crude had slipped to a two-month low of $89.16 per barrel on Tuesday before recovering to around $92.40 on Wednesday.
Indian stocks have gained nearly 10 per cent this month, putting both benchmark indices on track for their strongest monthly performance since November 2020.
Banking and financial stocks lead gains
Buying was visible across sectors, with 14 of the 16 major sectoral indices trading in positive territory. Small-cap and mid-cap indices advanced 1.7 per cent and 1.1 per cent, respectively.
The financial sector gained 1.6 per cent, with HDFC Bank rising 2.1 per cent and ICICI Bank gaining 1.4 per cent. InterGlobe Aviation, Mahindra & Mahindra, Eternal, Power Grid and Bharti Airtel were among the other major Sensex gainers.
IIFL Finance jumped 6.8 per cent after Blackstone agreed to acquire around 16 per cent stake in the company.
FIIs return as earnings support market
FIIs bought equities worth Rs 7,212.22 crore on Monday, taking their November purchases to around Rs 53,170 crore.
"The Nifty-50 has surged by 8.6 per cent in just seven trading days of this month. This surge was triggered mainly by the aggressive FII buying of ₹53,170 crore, so far, this month," said VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Investments.
He added that better-than-expected second-quarter earnings had provided fundamental support to the rally.
How did markets close in the previous session?
On Monday, the Sensex closed at 81,106.65, gaining 107.25 points, while the Nifty settled at 25,044.65, up 58.25 points. Markets remained shut on Tuesday for Diwali Balipratipada.